


snow angels

by catbeans



Category: Star Wars Original Trilogy
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-28
Updated: 2017-10-28
Packaged: 2019-01-25 16:59:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,470
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12536696
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/catbeans/pseuds/catbeans
Summary: There's snow during a recon mission, Han realizes the only snow Luke has ever had the displeasure of experiencing was on Hoth, and that has to change.





	snow angels

**Author's Note:**

> there are a couple brief mentions of han being chronically ill like in That Series (sometimes there are consequences to physically traumatic events) but it doesnt really come up a lot or matter for this fic much so im not putting this in that series (and you dont have to read that series for this).  
> it feels weird writing him healthy post-rotj cuz imo it makes more sense in canon that he wouldnt be healthy after the carbonite. it was used for live transport before ships had hyperdrive, but people kept dying or ending up with permanent health issues, so it stopped being used for travel, and after being in the carbonite for a year i think its More of a stretch to assume hes perfectly healthy after that.  
> ANYWAY im@hansolosbi dot tumblr

After Hoth, Luke could have gone without ever seeing snow again, and he would be perfectly happy.

His room where they were staying for an extended recon mission was small and sparsely furnished, an inconspicuous building in an inconspicuous part of town, mostly houses and empty space. It was out of the way, a little inconvenient, but easier to stay under the radar than if they were staying somewhere more central.

Luke woke up before Han, like usual, but instead of hopping right out of bed to get ready for the day, he looked out the window, saw everything blanketed in white, and pulled the covers back over his head with a groan.

Han shuffled sleepily against him, his arms tight around Luke’s waist with a leg thrown over Luke's locking him in place.

He knew he wouldn't get back to sleep, clear and wide awake the moment he woke up, but staying in bed with Han was immeasurably better than anything else he might be doing.

He almost thought Han had woken up the same time he did, but his breathing stayed heavy and even, warm puffs against his neck; he held the blankets up a few inches to look down, smiling to himself at the way Han’s hair puffed up around his face, little curls at the back of his neck and by his temples.

He knew Han would probably never put up with being called cute, but that was the only way Luke could think to describe him just then.

He pressed a kiss to the top of Han's head, wiggling his fingers where they were tingly-numb from Han lying on his arm, and he pulled the blankets back up to his head.

Luke couldn't bring himself to look at the clock on the bedside table, but it felt like it had been ages by the time Han shifted against him, pulling himself closer to Luke too deliberately to be moving in his sleep.

“Good morning,” Han mumbled a few minutes later, kissing below Luke’s jaw.

“If you can call it that,” Luke said, nodding his head towards the window.

Han pushed himself up on his elbow, squinting against the light coming in before dropping back down with a groan. “Of all fuckin’ things…”

Luke huffed a laugh and pulled Han snug against his chest. “We can probably stay in today.”

Han hummed and kissed along Luke’s neck until he was squirming. “Like we’d be doing anything else.”

Han hadn't liked the cold to begin with, but after the carbonite he couldn't handle it at all, sick and blind until it passed a day or two later; it had taken a while for Han to convince everyone to let him come along, checking forecasts and stocking up on heating pads and extra layers until he eventually wore them down while looking something like a marshmallow with all the sweaters he could fit under his coat.

If there was a bright side to that, and the white coating on the ground, at least Luke had an excuse to spend some extra time inside with him.

They lay there for a few minutes without saying anything, Luke absently fumbling with Han’s hair before Han bumped his nose against Luke’s jaw.

“Hey.”

“Mm?”

“Is this your first snow?”

Luke snorted. “Are you forgetting…?”

“That doesn't count,” Han said, propping himself up on his forearm. “It isn't always an icy nightmare.”

“You sure about that?”

Han flopped back down to the bed. “Mmhm.”

Luke looked over to the window, the fluffy chunks of white slowly drifting down; it didn't look anything like the snow on Hoth, bitter and icy with bits of  _ actual _ ice stinging his face sometimes too.

“I’ll take your word for it.”

Han was quiet for a second, and then, “Hang on.”

He reluctantly untangled himself from the blankets, fishing around by the foot of the bed for his missing sock before getting up to go to the window. He nodded to himself, looking around for his pants from the day before to pull a small holopad from his pocket.

“It's not that bad out,” he said, glancing towards the window again. “This’ll probably be gone by tonight.”

“Good,” Luke said, pulling the blankets tight around him now that he had them to himself.

“We’re going out,” Han said abruptly. He picked up a pair of long underwear and stripped out of his pajama pants before Luke could protest, looking between two sweaters before picking up both of them. “I'm serious, come on.”

“I don't think you should be--”

“Check the temperature,” Han interrupted. “Even  _ you _ were overheated yesterday, all those layers.”

“It wasn't snowing yesterday.”

“It's not that much colder,” Han said. “We can come right back in if you want, I swear.”

Luke opened his mouth and shut it again a second later; it would be easier to just go, he decided, probably less time consuming than trying to convince Han otherwise once he was set on something.

“Fine,” he said eventually, unwrapping himself from the blankets so Han could get back in bed to change his shirt without being cold.

There were a lot of things he didn't miss about Tatooine, but it  _ had _ been nice not having to spend what felt like all day just getting dressed.

“And you have the heating pads?” Luke asked while he laced up his boots before pulling on a second set of gloves.

“Yes--”

“And the--”

“I got it,” Han insisted, and Luke had to try to stifle a laugh.

Han couldn't get his arms flat at his sides with how puffy his coat and the layers of sweaters were, a scarf wrapped an almost excessive amount of times around his neck and up to his mouth, the chunky hat under his hood pulled down almost over his eyes.

Chewie had taken Han’s inability to handle the cold like a personal call to action, and Han could probably go for a week without wearing a single piece of clothing that wasn't knitted.

He looked pretty cute then, too, Luke thought.

It was early enough that they didn't pass anyone on their way down, just enough snow on the ground to shut things down until it was cleared. The cold air when they opened the door stung at Luke’s face, a shock compared to the heated hallway, and Han pulled his scarf up to his nose.

“If you--”

“I’ll tell you if it gets too cold,” Han interrupted, linking his arm with Luke’s when he hesitated in the doorway. “Come on.”

Luke took a deep breath and nodded, and he followed Han out when Han reached back to close the door.

It only took one step for him to realize this was nothing like on Hoth.

The snow there had been packed down and icy, freezing together as soon as it touched the ground. This time it almost looked like sand, light and drifting in the wind, but it audibly crunched under his boots and Luke couldn't stop himself from hopping a couple times before Han had to hold him up when he almost slipped.

Everything looked so  _ soft, _ blanketed in fluffy white that dulled the distant sounds of speeders, completely untouched except for their footprints. It had been almost impossible to hear anything on Hoth through the shrieking wind and the way the snow absorbed most of the sound, bouncing eerily off of ice cliffs and caves--it took him a while to stop mistaking it for someone wailing--but this was a sort of quiet that reminded him almost of early mornings on the farm, watching from the roof as the suns crept up into the sky before anyone else was awake to break the silence.

Luke didn't realize he hadn't moved, just staring around them, until Han tugged at his arm to lead him towards the road.

It hadn't been particularly busy the day before, but now it was completely empty, and the only way Luke could tell the road from the sidewalk was the faint dip in the snow.

It felt like they had the whole street to themselves.

“This is…” Luke started, but he trailed off, moving the heel of his boot from side to side until he could see the ground underneath.

“Pretty fun when it's not trying to kill you,” Han said, muffled through the thick scarf covering most of his face, but Luke could still see his eyes crinkled at the corners.

The snow still coming down stuck in fluffy chunks to the fur around Han's hood, and Luke smiled back at him, standing up on his toes to brush the snow from Han's hood and kiss his nose over the scarf.

“This is pretty fun.”

Han took his hand and led him to the other side of the road, where a handful of bushes just looked like lumps and the bare trees were clumped with more snow than it looked like they should be able to hold on the thin branches, sparkling in the dim sunlight.

It looked like a dream.

Luke had seen a few holovids before, years back when Beru was teaching him about different planets and shown him what it looked like when they had seasons that weren't just hot and hotter; they didn't hold a candle to the real thing, couldn't capture that still silence that felt like time had stopped for a while.

“You probably couldn't make snowmen outta sand,” Han said, squeezing his hand and snapping Luke out of his daze.

“Snowmen?”

“Like, the little…” He let go of Luke’s hand for a second to mime three circles on top of each other. “Those things.”

Luke shook his head.

Han bounced his heels in the snow a couple times. “This should work.”

Han showed him how to clump the snow tightly enough to roll it into a ball, leaving a row of uneven snowballs by the side of the road until Luke got the hang of it. Han had to make the bottom two pieces, Luke making the small, lumpy head, and he couldn't keep from smiling to himself when Han poked a face with a wobbly grin onto the front of it.

“I think he’s a looker,” Han said, looping his arm around Luke’s waist and pulling the scarf down to kiss him. “Your face is  _ freezing.” _

“We can--”

Han shook his head and cut him off with another kiss before pulling his scarf back up to his nose. “One more thing.”

Han took Luke’s hand again and led him a little ways down the road, where the snow was still untouched from their footprints and the tracks from making the snowballs.

He stopped at a large flat spot, looking around before nodding to himself and telling Luke, “Lie down.”

“What?”

“It’s a thing, I swear.”

Luke narrowed his eyes disbelievingly, but he held onto Han’s hand, helping to lower him down until he was flat on the ground.

“Move your arms and legs side to side.”

“I think you’re making this up.”

“I'm not,” Han insisted. “I just don't have waterproof pants on.”

Neither did he, Luke almost pointed out, but he could get his legs cold without worrying about getting sick, and Han just looked at him expectantly, and he rolled his eyes and started moving his limbs like Han had told him.

“That's good,” Han said a few seconds later, holding his hand out to pull Luke back up.

“Oh!”

Han stepped forward to draw a line in the snow with the toe of his boot, up from the imprint left from Luke’s arm. “Now it’s you.”

Luke grinned and kissed Han’s cheek through his scarf. He almost missed when Han shivered, feeling it more than seeing it with all the layers he had on.

“Let’s go inside,” Luke said, linking his arm with Han’s. “I brought hot chocolate mix.”

Han walked a little faster.

He groaned delightedly as soon as they were inside, the warmth hitting them like a wall. His cheeks were pink when he pulled the scarf down, and Luke couldn't help finding it endearing even through the worry that he'd gotten too cold.

He hadn't noticed the snow stuck to his pants until it started to melt, damp and frigid by the time they got up the stairs to their room, and he couldn't get out of them fast enough.

Han was still freeing himself from all his sweaters when Luke pulled on a dry pair of pants. He tossed his coat over a chair, digging through their bags to find the crumpled packets of hot chocolate mix.

He started the squeaky kettle and poured the mix into a couple stained mugs, and he was about to turn around when he felt Han’s hands at his hips, shivering from the kisses pressed along his neck.

_ “Go _ warm up,” he said, twisting around and nudging Han towards the bed. “I’ll bring these over.”

Han hummed and pulled him closer, his lips warming Luke’s the longer Han kissed him before Luke pushed at his chest again. “Yeah, I'm going.”

Luke waited for the water to boil while Han got back in bed, pulling the covers up to his chin so only his head was showing when Luke turned around to bring him the hot chocolate, giving both mugs to Han so he could climb in next to him.

Han kissed the side of Luke's face when he handed back one of the mugs. “Thanks.”

“Were you warm enough?” Luke asked, shuffling closer and leaning against Han’s shoulder.

“Almost too much.” Han winced when he took a sip too early. “Heard from Leia yet?”

Luke shook his head. “It’ll probably be a while, everything’s still slowed down with the snow.”

“Good,” Han mumbled, kissing Luke's cheek again until Luke turned his head to kiss him properly, his lips warm and sweet from the hot chocolate.

“We have work to do,” Luke said with a laugh, muffled when Han kissed him again.

“Not if we’re stuck here all day,” Han said, kissing Luke's jaw before suddenly pulling back when he almost spilled on himself. He took a quick drink so it wasn't so close to the top of the mug, setting it down on the wobbly bedside table so he could scoot closer and kiss Luke’s neck. “If we gotta be stuck anywhere…”

Luke shivered and tilted his head to the side. “Could be worse.”

He felt Han smile against his skin, and he leaned over to put his mug next to Han's; he tugged Han over until he settled into the V of Luke's legs, wrapping his arms around Han's waist and pulling him close against his chest.

Han leaned his head back on Luke's shoulder, his hair tickling under Luke's chin. “This is more than fine with me.”


End file.
